What dictates meaning?
Cultural engagement plays a critical role in influencing people to think and act differently. It can be the difference between meaningful or transactional relationships. To be successful in marketing we need to understand people’s values and beliefs more deeply, and how we can then appeal to them.
My guest in this episode is Marcus Collins, someone who has done this for a living for years working with some of the world’s top brands, including Apple and Beyoncé. He argues that if a brand wants people’s custom it requires trust, intimacy, and being part of their congregation and tribe.
He also discusses the meaning of culture, his tips for ambitious business owners and how they can drive consumption without compromising ethics. Crucially, he also tells CEOs how they can become better storytellers.
You’ll hear about:
- What does culture mean to Marcus?
- What goes wrong in traditional marketing?
- How companies build trust
- How brands maintain trust
- How could Marcus’ work apply to organisations?
- Three tips for ambitious business owners
- Driving consumption whilst being ethical
- How CEOs can become better storytellers
- How disruptive is Marcus’ thinking?
- Marcus’ advice to people looking to do big things
- Working as head of Beyonce’s digital strategy
- Marcus’ congregations and tribes
- Marcus’ best day
The best bits of these conversations are captured in my newsletter Strategic Leader.
More about Marcus
Dr Marcus Collins is an award-winning marketer and cultural translator with one foot in the world of practice — formerly serving as the Chief Strategy Officer at Wieden+Kennedy New York — and one foot in the world of academia — as a marketing professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
Prior to his advertising tenure, Marcus began his career in music and tech with a start-up he co-founded before working on iTunes and Nike sport music initiatives at Apple and running digital strategy for Beyoncé.
“Trust is the mechanism that absorbs uncertainty.”
Dr Marcus Collins
VIEW RUNNING ORDER
| 03.32 | What does culture mean to Marcus? |
| 07.52 | What goes wrong in traditional marketing? |
| 12.12 | How companies build trust |
| 15.45 | How brands maintain trust |
| 18.59 | How could Marcus’ work apply to organisations? |
| 21.19 | Three tips for ambitious business owners. |
| 25.24 | Driving consumption whilst being ethical. |
| 29.20 | How CEOs can become better storytellers. |
| 32.42 | How disruptive is Marcus’ thinking? |
| 36.07 | Marcus’ advice to people looking to do big things. |
| 38.00 | Working as head of Beyonce’s digital strategy. |
| 39.41 | Marcus’ congregations and tribes. |
| 43.00 | Marcus’ best day. |
Dan Pontefract: Reframing work-life balance
Tiffani Bova: Enhancing your customer and employee experience
David Rogers: Rethinking digital transformation
Marcus Collins: Creating your culture
Keaton Hoskins: Leading a limitless entrepreneurial life
Tammy Gooler Loeb: Creating optionality in your career and life
Juliette Powell & Art Kleiner: Using AI responsibly
Suzanne Heywood: Learning from your childhood
